Edelstein
by bigbang172
Summary: The adventures of several characters from Pokémon, as well as several OCs.  Not really sure where it's going yet, so I'll update this later.
1. Chapter 1

Hoenn, Route 119, 14:33

The sun rose high in the sky, and it shone brightly and burned hot. It was the beginning of August, and many Nincada chirped and droned in the trees to herald in the last, and hottest, month of summer.

„Water…" mumbled Sprout, stumbling across the raised bridge. „I'm so thirsty." He knew that he should have saved that bottle of water he used to water the pinap berry. It would probably die from this intense heat, anyways.

Sprout hated the summer. Detested it with a grudging passion. It as all just sweat, skin cancer, and everyone crowding into any body of water they could find. (The ones that weren't infested with Tentacool, anyways.) No, he loved the cold winter months, especially on sunny days when there was a fresh layer of powder snow on the ground.

„Snow is made of water…" he sighed. He lazily held his bag at his side as he walked his bike across the bridge. His clothes were soaked with sweat, and he felt sticky and disgusting. He just wanted to hurry up and get back to Mauville so he could take a shower.

As he was thinking of how nice it would feel to be clean after so long in the hot sun, he heard a rumble of thunder off to the south. He looked in that direction, and dark gray clouds were looming. It seemed a summer storm was heading this way, and quickly. „Damn it, Arceus," he said under his breath, hopping onto the seat of the bike and speeding towards the city.

Hoenn, Mauville City, 15:46

‚Damn, I should have figured I would get caught in that stupid storm. Oh well, at least I don't feel so gross anymore,' Sprout thought as he pulled up next to the apartment he was leasing for the month. ‚At least my camera is safe, thanks to my new bag.'

Just yesterday, he had heard of some storms coming and decided that, since he needed his equipment with him all the time now, it would be a good idea to invest some extra money into a bag that would actually protect his stuff.

He stepped through the door and took his wet clothing off in the foyer, immediately hanging it on a coat hook and going to the bathroom.

…

After his shower, Sprout decided to go to the game corner down the street and play some slots. It really wasn't like him, because he normally was conservative with his money, but he felt like blowing some after he won all that money off of some Ace Trainer earlier.

He walked to his closet and grabbed his gloves. He was already in his normal attire of a black and white striped shirt, a white jacket with a large collar, and a pair of white pants with black cuffs at the bottom. He walked through the door and locked it behind him as he placed his gloves on.

Not long after leaving, Sprout heard a large commotion in front of the city's Gym. As he got closer, he could see that there was a young green-haired boy in a battle with an older-looking one, maybe by a few years, with silver hair.

‚Who battles in the middle of the city? I mean, couldn't he have moved his battle at least a _short_ way out of town? Some people are so inconsiderate.'

„I won't go easy on you this time, Wally!" the older boy shouted, gripping his Pokéball in determination.

„I hope not," the green haired boy, that he now knew was known as Wally, responded softly. He followed with a slight grin, and Sprout couldn't tell if it was out of smugness or contentment. „I choose you, Ralts."

„Go! Grovyle!" shouted the other, releasing a seemingly grass-type Pokémon that I'd never seen before. Sprout pulled out his Pokédex.

It's monotone voice comforted him in a way, he guessed it was the positive association of always gaining knowledge when it was heard.

„Grovyle. This Pokémon is the grass-type evolution of Treeko. Mainly living in forests, it is rare to see. No further data available," it told him.

‚Well thanks a lot,' he thought.

„Grovyle, use pound!" shouted the boy to his Pokémon, and it moved blindingly fast at his command.

„Dodge, Ralts!" Wally raised his voice this time, and Ralts tried to dodge the Grovyle's pound, but it moved too slowly and clumsily, and took the hit almost head on.

„Now! Use absorb and finish him!" With that, the Grovyle began to glow and Ralts collapsed, nearly fainted. Wally looked slightly hurt, although his face never showed much expression. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't, and didn't, just until the other boy's Pokémon was about to use another pound.

„Ralts! Confusion." He said sternly, his voice laced with sullen pain. The Ralts, though, was too weak, and the Grovyle's last attack fainted him before it could execute the move.

„Yeah!" the older boy cheered, and Wally merely flashed that same confusing grin yet again.

„You were right, I do need to train harder and get better. Thanks, Ruby, for showing me the drive of a great Pokémon trainer."

‚So that was his only Pokémon, and it was that weak?' Sprout thought to himself.

„Wally, here. I wanted to give you this." Ruby said softly. He handed Wally a small blue and red orb. „I found it and thought you could use it to catch your next Pokémon, you know, after you train with your Ralts some more." The boy smiled as Wally took the ball.

‚Wow, those two must be really close if he's giving away a great ball like that.'

Wally smiled, more wholeheartedly this time, and thanked Ruby, bowing slightly.

„Until we meet again?" he added before he walked away towards route 18.

Ruby nodded, determined, and waved. „And you better give me a decent fight next time." He shouted.


	2. Chapter 2

Hoenn, Mauville City, Game Corner, 16:22

„So lemme get this straight." Sprout said, taking another sip of his drink. „You're from Johto, and a while ago _your_ father, _Norman_, got offered to be a Hoenn Gym Leader, so your family moved here to be closer to him?"

„Yeah, pretty much. It's just my mom and I, though." Ruby smiled slightly. „And pretty soon, I'm gonna beat him, along with every other Gym Leader in Hoenn!" He fist pumped with a determined gleam in his eye.

„You sound like an adventurous person, why not do some gambling while you're here?" Sprout asked.

Ruby looked at his drink, the one Sprout had bought him as a reward for his victory earlier.

„I dunno. I don't have that much money…" he trailed off.

„Maybe you shouldn't be handing out great balls, then!" Sprout joked.

„Wally needed that! I feel like I'm the only one who puts faith in him, and strives to make him better, He needs some positive reinforcement," the boy argued.

„Okay, okay. I was only kidding. Seems like you're doing a pretty good thing for the kid."

„I hope so." Ruby stirred his soda with the straw, and there was an awkward moment of silence „Anyways, I'm gonna go back home to see a friend soon," he changed the subject.

„Really?" asked Sprout, secretly excited. He had not been to Johto in a long while, hearing the name excited him, brought back memories. He really wanted to ask if he could come along, but he had only just met Ruby, and he felt it would be creepy. So instead, he played it off. „I was actually planning on going back soon. Would you be cool with it if we traveled together?"

Ruby seemed slightly caught off guard, but quickly smoothed out. „I guess, I don't see why not," he said, and secretly cheered in his head; he had made a new friend, one of the few he had so far in Hoenn!

‚Awesome!' they both thought at the same time.

„So about that gambling, I'm gonna go play some roulette. Come with?" questioned Sprout.

„Nah," Ruby replied. „I'm gonna call my friend, I'll be outside."

„Okay." Sprout wished this kid would let loose a little, but whatever. He _was _a new trainer, after all. They need all the money they can get, and don't make much back.

That's why Sprout decided a long time ago to become a watcher. The only money he really _had _to spend was mostly initial: the camera, his few supplies, a printer. And then the film, but that wasn't that expensive anyways. He used his computer from home to edit and send off the photos he took.

Another plus was that, although he still caught and trained a few Pokémon, he didn't have the added pressure of Gyms and the League to live up to.

As he was thinking, he handed the lady at the roulette table his first bet. "Black twelve."

…

Outside, Ruby walked over to a bench near the street and pulled out his PokéGear. He flipped through his saved contacts until he reached the ‚F' list. He dialed the first name in the section.

„Hello?" asked the voice on the other side of the line. „Who is this?"

„Hey, it's Ruby. I've missed you, FC."

Isshu, Hiun City, 13:22

FC shuffled through his bag when he heard his PokéGear ringing for his attention. He looked at the screen.

‚Hm, I don't recognize this number,' he thought. But he answered it anyways.

„Hello? Who's this?" he asked plainly.

„Hey, it's Ruby. I've missed you, FC."

„Holy Magikarp!" FC exclaimed in disbelief. „Is it really you, Ruby?" I haven't talked to you in forever. How long's it been?"

„About three years," Ruby replied.

„Wow, what's up?"

„Nothing, really. I was just thinking that I missed you, and I want to come visit for a while."

‚Oh, shit.' „Um, that shouldn't be a problem. Where are you now, anyways?" He asked, at the same time trying to formulate a plan.

„Mauville, in Hoenn. Speaking of, I met someone today. He wants to come with, would that be okay?"

‚At least that takes a little pressure off of me,' FC thought. „Oooooh," he interjected suggestively. „Just met him and he's already gonna come home with you? _That_ was quick, Ruby.

„What? N-no, it's not like that!" Ruby protested. „He just saw me in a battle, then we started talking. It's really nothing."

‚Yeah, that's what I tried to say when I met _him _after a battle.'

…

FC eventually finished the phone conversation, which was very awkward for him the whole time, and he thought Ruby could tell FC was apprehensive about his visit. Although FC was happy to see him, Ruby was gonna hate him when he figured out that FC was in a relationship with –

„Morning, Fluffy Cloud," said another, wrapping his arms around FC's waist from behind, lightly kissing the edge of his jaw right under his left ear, sending a chill through his nervous system.

"Good morning, N," he replied, his feelings of negativity slightly swayed by the other's touch.

"Want me to make you something for breakfast?" Even though it was late in the afternoon, they had both just woken up. The night before was especially tiring.

"Uh, sure, how about french toast?" FC suggested, smiling brightly.

"No problem," N smiled in return, slowly unwrapping his arms and walking into the kitchen. FC sat on the couch and mentally reviewed the events of last night. It was all so unexpected, but he was perfectly happy, content with their new relationship. He sighed, happily. He decided he would call Ruby back and tell him where he was, and about his situation.

As he looked down toward his bag, he noticed a large white smear of a stain that seemed to be dried on.

'Oh, shit. That was a bad idea.' FC thought, scratching some off. He decided to get up and grab a towel and some textile cleaner. He went back to the couch and began to clean it off, remembering more of the events from last night.

When he finished, he went to the kitchen and rinsed the cleaner off of his hands. He sat at the island bar, in front of the stove where N was preparing some awesome-looking french toast. N looked up at him, flipping a piece.

"So, what will you be up to today?" The boy asked, a small piece of his fluffy sea-foam hair falling out of his loose bun.

"I'm not sure. I should probably call the others so they don't think you murdered me ." FC said, remembering that everybody else was still here. Almost as if he knew, his XTransceiver rang loudly from the living room.

Hoenn, Mauville City, 20:02

Sprout sang along to the opening lines of the song he was blasting over his living room speakers, the bass pounding excitingly.

"看我看看我 不要总是想着他 不爱不爱他不爱你你的完美胜过他~" He was mixing yet another drink at the counter in the small apartment kitchen, this time one for Ruby.

"I don't drink often, you know. It might not take much for me to be affected," the boy with the silver hat said, slightly nervously.

"Oh, it's okay. I made it virgin for you, anyways." Sprout replied in a slightly mocking tone. Ruby seemed to pick up on his intonation, because he quickly became petulant.

"What, you don't think I can take a drink?" he suggested, his tone rising to suggest the impending testosterone-driven challenge.

"I didn't say that, but now that you mention it, I don't. You seem like a total lightweight." Sprout said provokingly, taking a sip of his own _alcoholic _drink.

"I bet I can out-drink you!" Ruby muttered smugly.

"What was that? Sounds like a challenge to me!" Sprout replied, smiling and sliding the bottle of vodka across the counter toward the other boy, leaving a trail of cool liquid in its wake.

Ruby quickly grabbed it, screwing the cap off and hastily pouring a dose into his previously untainted drink. He then took a large gulp of the cocktail, and sprout noticed how Ruby's adam's apple slid up and down the length of his throat. When Ruby looked back down, Sprout quickly averted his eyes, not wanting to seem creepy.

"Beat that." Ruby said smugly.

"Oh, it's on now." Sprout contested, standing up, walking over to a cabinet and removing two shot glasses from it. He brought them back over to the counter. Sprout poured two shots, spilling a small amount over the rims and onto the counter carelessly.

"Cheers," he suggested, but Ruby was already downing his first shot, so Sprout decided to forego the formalities and do the same.

"This place about to blow..." the voice on the speaker chanted determinedly.

Sprout chuckled when he saw Ruby's reaction to the astringent liquid: he squinted his crimson eyes and gasped.

After a few more shots, Ruby clearly began to become affected: his movements were less coordinated and his speech was becoming slower, more free-flowing and elastic. Sprout was proud of himself – he could barely feel anything at all, aside from a small flush on his face and slightly harder-to-control thoughts.

The second symptom was clearly taking effect, because every time Ruby would gasp after taking a shot, Sprout's mind was flooded with alcohol-tainted images of the younger boy, his eyes closed in pain and satisfaction.

"Hey, Ruby. I think that's enough for now. We should probably head to bed since you were planning on getting up early to head over to your friends'," Sprout explained.

"Ah man, I coulda' beat you, I swear." Ruby said, clinking his glass he was holding weakly in his hand to the hard surface of the counter.

'Yeah, so you say," Sprout thought, not wanting to provoke the boy anymore. "No really, you can go ahead to the couch, and I'll be back with something for you to sleep with in a minute."

"Okaaay," Ruby sighed, picking himself up sluggishly and halfway stumbling into the living room.

'That boy is so hardheaded.' Sprout shook his head a little as he pulled a sheet and a light blanket out from his closet. He walked back into the living room to see Ruby already asleep on the sofa, snoring lightly.

"Hey. Hey!" Sprout nudged the other with his hand, but got no response. 'Hm."

Sprout spread the sheet and blanket out over Ruby and walked back towards his bedroom, removing his shirt and pants and shutting his light off. He crawled under the covers of his bed, the rustling of the freshly washed sheets welcoming him to the comforting sleep ahead.

…

Sprout awoke to the rustle of the sheets, the same as when he himself had gotten into his bed. After a second of waking, he twisted his bare torso around to see that Ruby was lying next to him, his crimson eyes shining in the summer moonlight that flooded through the large window above his bed.

Still half-asleep, Sprout's reaction was slow. "Ruby?" he mumbled questioningly, rubbing a bit of sleep out of one of his eyes. "What are you doing in my room?"

"Mm, I couldn't sleep, and I was really bored, so I wanted to talk. I debated with myself for a while, whether to come in or not. I hope I didn't startle you."the younger boy trailed off self-consciously.

"No, only surprised me a little. What do you need to talk about?" Sprout asked, a bit of friendly concern showing through his voice.

"I dunno. Why are you here, in Mauville?" questioned Ruby, staring towards the moon that was perched just above a tall tree not too far from Sprout's apartment.

"Oh, yeah. I guess I never told you, but I'm a Pokémon watcher. I was here to do a photo shoot with Wattson's Pokémon for a big article in Pokémon Weekly." Sprout explained casually. "I finished a week early, and my lease for the apartment isn't up until the end of the month. I didn't have the extra money to pay the early termination fee, so I'll just wait it out until then."

"Wow, you work for the Weekly?" Ruby's eyes were slightly wide with surprise. "I never thought you would be a watcher. I guess I figured you were a trainer who gave up on the league or something."

"Thanks," Sprout replied sarcastically.

"I didn't mean it like that," argued Ruby, clearly being honest. "I just didn't know."

Sprout noticed a slight pang of guilt flash across Ruby's face, and the open show of emotion made him feel closer to the other boy.

"It's okay, I understand." There was an awkward moment of silence hanging in the air.

So you said you were challenging the league, right? How many Gym badges do you have so far?" Sprout asked, genuinely curious.

"Two, and I was planning on challenging Wattson tomorrow. So three!" It was just then that Sprout noticed the other boy didn't have his silver hat on. His hair was a shiny, albeit plain, black. It was cut in a simple style, but there was something peculiar and oddly attractive about one feature of his forehead. There were two thick, diagonal scars just above his right temple.

"That's great, I know you'll do well." Sprout encouraged him.

For a minute, Ruby lay in silence, contemplating.

As he was thinking, Sprout had to ask: "Hey, Ruby. If you don't mind me asking, what's with that scar on your forehead?"

Ruby quickly realized what Sprout was mentioning and covered his scar. "Oh, it's nothing. I don't like talking about it."

After that, Ruby seemed to withdraw a bit.

"Sorry," Sprout apologized. "I didn't realize."

"That's okay, I'm gonna back to bed. Thanks for talking." He trailed off as he got off of the bed and exited the room quietly.

"Night..."


	3. Chapter 3

Hoenn, Mauville City, 07:26

Sprout awoke to the bright heat of the sun shining through his bedroom window. He slatted his fingers over his eyes due to the bright light invading his pupils, wide with sleep. A second after he woke, he heard the sound of a PokéGear from the other room, and he realized that the sound was probably what had woken him up in the first place.

He heard a muffled voice from in the living room, and he heard sluggish morning movement. He decided that it might be a good idea to get up now, since he figured they would get an early start so Ruby could battle Wattson.

Sprout lazily stood up from his bed and walked into the living room to see Ruby balled up on the couch in the blanket Sprout had given him the night before.

"Who called?" he asked nonchalantly, sitting down on the couch next to the contorted body.

"FC. He wanted to know when we'd be coming." the boy replied, sounding aggravated that the call woke him up.

"FC? Your friend in Johto, I'm assuming?" Sprout asked, thinking that it was a weird name.

"Yeah." he responded simply.

"You wanna sleep some more? Or are you gonna challenge Wattson soon?"

"Eeeh, I think I can wait another day to go fight. I'm tired, and FC says he's off on a trip and won't be back home for at least a few days."

"No problem. I'm gonna go back to my bed. I guess you could come, it would be more comfortable than the couch." Sprout suggested, getting up and strolling back. Once there, he climbed between the cool mattress and the crisp folds of linen wrapped in smooth, down-filled covers.

No more than a minute later, he felt another follow.

"Hey, Sprout. Sorry about walking out on you last night, It's just that I'm sensitive about it, my scar."

"That's okay, Ruby." Sprout turned around to face him. "I'm sorry for mentioning it, let's just go to sleep."

"Actually, I wanted to ask you a question last night that I never got to."

"Go ahead," Sprout insisted.

"Would you be creeped out if I told you I had... feelings, for you?"

Isshu, Hiun City, 13:30

"Hello?" FC asked vaguely over his XTransceiver.

"FC!" The girl's voice rang over the speaker loudly, forcing FC to pull it away from his ear in fear of losing his hearing.

"Hey," he said. "Where are you?"

"We're in Shippou. Red just got done battling Aloe."

"Really? How'd he do."

"He got the badge! We're heading back over there now."

"Okay, see you soon." FC replied, hanging up the device with a click.

Isshu, Yaguruma Forest, 13:32

Leif strolled leisurely down the new road through the Forest. All the Kurumiru were so cute, they made her happy; actually, they reminded her a little bit of herself.

"かわいい〜" she sighed happily, and her satisfied face made Red smile.

"They are." He nodded in agreement, smiling down at Leif again. He was holding her hand, walking alongside her through the forest that was beginning to settle with the setting sun. He felt really nice here, it was definitely the least threatening forest he had ever been too anywhere on Pokéarth, as well as the prettiest.

The two continued walking in silence for a few minutes, but were interrupted by a man wearing a strange-looking, ridiculous even, white costume who came running into the forest with a large Pokémon skull in his arms.

Leif noticed at first, but then seemed to disregard the strangeness of the situation, which she often did and which Red contributed to her overall level of disinterest regarding people.

Red, on the other hand, felt himself turning his head to watch where this person was headed. He watched as they ran straight into the depths of the forest. "Odd," he thought.

Only seconds later, another man came running into the forest from the entrance, obviously looking for something which Red could only guess was the man that came through here just now. He ran over to the two, who were the only people in that area of the forest other than one school kid in the grass nearby, trying to learn something from a wild Churine that he had been observing.

"Have you two seen a man running through here with a Pokémon fossil?" he asked, huffing and gasping from running for a long time.

Leif looked up at him as Red began to speak. "Yeah, we just saw him a minute ago., running that way. Is something wrong?"

"Yes, it's been stolen from the museum." He replied, then turned and began talking to another boy. He seemed about sixteen, and was a little short for his age, with black hair and a hat. He was obviously a trainer, from the looks of his clothes and his bag.

"Black, I need to you go see if you can track them down through the forest trail. It's pretty straightforward, so you shouldn't get lost. I'll go make sure none of them escape through the exit. Come see me if you get the skull back safely."

The boy nodded and charged off in the direction the man with the skull had taken before, and the older man turned back to Red and Leif.

"If you see any others like them, please try and stop them." With that, he ran towards the exit of the forest.

Leif looked back up at Red, clearly confused about what as going on. Red couldn't say he knew exactly either, but he figured he'd gotten the gist of the situation.

"Okay Leif, call FC and tell him we're gonna be a little off schedule."

She nodded and pulled out her XTransceiver.


	4. Chapter 4

Hoenn, Mauville City, 07:35

Sprout's eyes widened in surprise, the sudden question catching him quite off guard.

"You mean you like me?" he asked nervously.

The other boy nodded, still facing the floor, blushing furiously.

Sprout didn't really know how to react to this, especially with how suddenly it came up. So he laughed.

"Really?" he asked. "You can't be being serious. You like _me_?" He felt so much better when he heard Ruby begin to laugh with him, cutting the tension in the room.

"Yeah, I do. Is it really that funny?" He looked up, his blush still harsh, but relieved some. Clearly Sprout's reaction wasn't as bad as he thought it might have been.

After Sprout thought another minute, he stopped laughing. The tension in the room returned immediately, and Sprout began to feel nervousness creeping in again.

Ruby stopped laughing also, but was still looking up at Sprout, his eyes bright.

Sprout sighed and patted the mattress next to him, encouraging Ruby to come sit next to him.

"Look, Ruby. Ever since I met you, I've really liked you, as a friend."

Ruby's eyes immediately cast down.

"I just don't know if I like you _that much_ yet. I need to –"

Sprout was cut off by Ruby, who began to stand up from the bed. Sprout grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back down.

"I wasn't done." Ruby's head stayed down, and Sprout wondered what he was feeling right now. Sadness, rejection, embarrassment, anger?

"It's not that I don't have any feelings for you, it's just that it takes some time for me to develop a relationship, with anyone. Even friends. Especially a boyfriend. I don't plan on leaving you anytime soon, either. We'll still spend time together, and my feelings for you may expand, deepen."

Ruby hadn't looked up, and Sprout wanted to see his face, so he pushed the other's head up by the chin, looking into his eyes. Ruby wasn't crying, but he didn't look happy. Sprout felt bad, but knew that this was really what he felt, and he wasn't gonna try to go into a relationship he didn't feel sure about yet. He had done that before, and it never worked out. He didn't want to do the same thing to Ruby.

"Look at me."

Ruby looked up at Sprout's eyes, and Sprout leaned over to give him a hug.

"Don't feel bad. There's no way I would ever reject you, Ruby. I'm just not sure yet."

Ruby feigned a smile as best as he could, but didn't hug Sprout back.

Isshu, Route 3, 14:00

FC and N were just about to enter the Forest when Leif and Red walked out, with prefect timing.

"Oh, hey guys." N said, in his eversoft voice.

"Hey." They answered in unison, Leif smiling dumbly and Red nodding.

"So, what happened?" Asked FC. "Did you beat them?"

Red stepped forward and pulled Leif along by her hand, and he began to explain.

"Yeah. Well, not _us_, but they're gone now and the skull's back. Some younger trainer named Black found the one with the skull and got it back from him. We pretty much just stayed back and kept a few of them towards the front of the forest, so they couldn't get back to help their allies."

"Black? I know him." said N, looking slightly surprised at the mention of Black's name.

"Really? How?" asked Red. "I'd never seen him before."

"You also haven't lived in Isshu since you were a kid."

Red blinked. "Yeah, right." N wasn't known for making comebacks.

"He's young, when I got here he was at least a few years younger than me." N explained, his face blank, making no effort to remember as though it was just yesterday. But that was how he always explained things, blankly.

"Well, why did he seem so important to Burgh?" asked Red.

"Because, he's been one of the forerunners in the fight against Team Plasma ever since he became a trainer. He's an important asset to all those who are against them."

"Hmm," said FC. Red nodded and Leif was over treating one of her Pokémon with a potion; she wasn't really interested in what was going on.

"Well," said FC. "Let's get back home. We can worry about Black and Team Plasma later, for now it doesn't seem like they're doing much."

"Yeah," agreed N. They walked towards the bridge they could see rising above the treeline.

Hoenn, Mauville City, 08:40

Ruby came out from the bedroom, done with his shower, and inhaled deeply. The warm smell of baking cinnamon rolls filled the house, flooding past every corner and filling every inch of the space.

Sprout was in the Kitchen, sitting at the bar and drinking coffee in front of a laptop.

Ruby walked up to the bar and stood next to him. Sprout didn't look over.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey." Ruby found a few coffee glasses on the counter near him and poured himself some. Sprout glanced over at him, watching as he poured a small amount of cream into the glass, transforming the transparent darkness of the coffee into a velvety opaque beige. "What are you working on?" He nodded towards the computer after sitting down.

"Finishing some pictures I've taken while I've been here. Tomorrow's the deadline to send them off to the Magazine. See this one? It's my favorite." Sprout angled the screen towards Ruby to show him a picture of a flock of Wingull flying into the sunset over the crystalline water, the burning sun staining the whole shot a brilliant shade of red-orange.

"It's beautiful."


End file.
